Understanding Private Equity’s Expanding Footprint in Public Accounting Firms: A Descriptive Account and Research Agenda

SYNOPSIS This paper provides an overview of the rise of private equity (PE) investment in public accounting firms, a development that is reshaping the structure, operations, governance, and identity of the public accounting profession. We describe regulatory and structural changes enabling PE investment and examine the factors that make public accounting firms attractive to PE. Although PE investment offers solutions to some of the profession’s current challenges, it raises significant concerns about professional independence, cultural shifts, and the sustainability of PE-driven transformations. We believe it is essential that the obligation to serve the public interest remains at the forefront of the audit profession. Finally, we propose a research agenda grounded in the Statement on Quality Management Standards No. 1 issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Auditing Standards Board to examine whether and how these investments can coexist with the values that have long distinguished public accounting. JEL Classifications: G24; M41; M42.